Motor vehicle



G. H. MILLAR INVEN 0R. 5. e. @m BY .6. if

ATTORNEYS United States Patent O MOTOR VEHICLE Gordan H. Millar, Iukster, Mich., assignor to Ford Motor Company, Dearborn, Mich., a corporation of Delaware Application February 25, 1957, Serial No. 641,893

Claims. (Cl. 1230-66) This invention relates to a motor vehicle construction and more particularly to a motor vehicle driven by the combined action of an internal combustion engine acting as a reciprocating gasier and by an elastic lluid turbine.

Much effort has been expended in an elort to evolve a practical gas turbine driven automotive vehicle. The same statement may be made concerning the combination of a gas turbine and the so-called free piston engine, the gaseous eluent from the free piston engine being employed to drive the gas turbine. To date, none of these efforts have achieved notable commercial success.

The instant invention has been evolved in an elort to combine the most desirable qualities of the gas turbine, the free piston engine gasifer and the conventional reciprocating engine.

This invention may well be understood by reference to the ligure of drawing which is a schematic illustration of the invention.

The air for the operation of the automotive power plant is passed through air inlet and into air compressor 11. Air compressor 11 is driven by reciprocating gasiiier 12 through mechanical drive 13. 'Ihe output of air compressor 11 is led through conduit 14 and supports combustion in reciprocating gasilier 12. Reciprocating gasier 12 may be any conventional reciprocating internal combustion engine equipped with a mechanical drive 13 for propelling air compressor 11 and a further mechanical drive 15 which is connected by conventional means to one of the two pairs of wheels supporting the vehicle. Usually, although not necessarily, this will be the front wheels of the vehicle. The hot compressed exhaust gas leaving the reciprocating gasier 12 flows through conduit 16 into elastic uid turbine 17 and is then exhausted through exhaust conduit 18.

The combustion conditions in reciprocating gasifier 12 are chosen so that combustion is substantially complete in the gasier. The products of combustion of gasiier 12 depart from this machine at suiciently high temperature and pressure to act as a working uid for elastic fluid turbine 17.

The mechanical elort of elastic fluid turbine 17 is transmitted through mechanical drive 19 to overrunning clutch 20 and through mechanical drive 21 to the other pair of wheels. Again, the pair of wheels driven by the elastic liuid turbine 17 will usually, but not necessarily, be the rear wheels.

It is to be emphasized that this has no mechanical connection between the elastic uid turbine 17 and the reciprocating gasifier 12 other than that provided through the road upon which the vehicle is travelling.

I claim as my invention:

1. A motor vehicle comprising a rst pair of wheels,

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located on opposite sides of the longitudinal axis of the vehicle and a second pair of wheels also located on opposite sides ofthe longitudinal axis of the vehicle, said first pair of wheels being driven by an elastic Huid turbine, said second pair of wheels being drivingly connected by a mechanical drive to a reciprocating gasier, said elastic uid turbine and reciprocating gasier being drivingly connected only by a conduit capable of conveying the product of the reciprocating gasiler to the elastic duid turbine.

2. A motor vehicle comprising a first pair of wheels located on opposite sides of the longitudinal axis of the vehicle and a second pair of Wheels also located on opposite sides of the longitudinal axis of the vehicle, said rst pair of wheels being driven by an elastic fluid turbine, said second pair of wheels being drivingly connected by a mechanical drive to a reciprocating gasier, said elastic Huid turbine and reciprocating gasier being drivingly connected only by a conduit capable of conveying the product of the reciprocating gasiiier to the elastic fluid member and said reciprocating gasier being drivingly connected to an air compressor which compressor is connected to the air inlet of the reciprocating gasier.

3. A motor vehicle comprising a rst pair of wheels located on opposite sides of the longitudinal axis of the vehicle and a second pair of wheels also located on opposite sides of the longitudinal axis of the vehicle, said rst pair of Wheels being driven by an elastic uid turbine through an overrunning clutch, said second pair of wheels being drivingly connected by a mechanical drive to a reciprocating gasier, said elastic duid turbine being drivingly connected to the reciprocating gasier only by a conduit, and said reciprocating gasilier being drivingly connected to an air compressor which compressor is connected to the air inlet of the reciprocating gasier.

4. In a motor vehicle having a longitudinal frame and front and rear pairs of road Wheels mounted on opposite sides of said frame that improvement comprising a reciprocating gasiier, said front wheels in mechanical driven relationship to said gasier, an elastic fluid turbine in driving relationship to said rear wheels, an air compressor driven by said gasifier and connected to supply air thereto for combustion, and said turbine and gas'ier connected only by a conduit capable of conveying the product of the gasier to the turbine.

5. In a motor vehicle having a longitudinal frame and front and rear pairs of wheels mounted on opposite sides of said frame that improvement comprising a reciprocating gasier, said front wheels in mechanical driven relationship to said gasifer, an elastic uid turbine, an overrunning clutch, said turbine in driving relationship to said rear wheels through said clutch, an air compressor driven by said gasiiier and connected to supply air thereto for combustion, and said turbine and gasier connected only by a conduit capable of conveying the product of the gasier to the turbine.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,244,742 Tyson June 10, 1941 2,468,828 Kopp May 3, 1949 2,585,029 Nettel Feb. 12, 1952 2,626,001 Antle Ian. 20, 1953 2,647,416 Turner et al Aug. 4, 1953 ,2,695,497 Huber Nov. 30, 1954 

